AdFreak

AdFreak taking publishing break until Jan. 4

We're signing off now until the New Year. Thank you all for reading over the past 12 months. We celebrated our fifth birthday in November, but in some ways it seems like we're just getting going. We have some fun stuff planned for 2010 as well. Have a great holiday, and we'll see you then.

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Photo by Sally M.

The 10 most-read AdFreak posts of the year

Looking back on 2009, certain topics really struck a chord with AdFreak readers. Specifically: terrorism, loose women, Jesus, old computer ads, condoms and genital shaving. Below is a list of the 10 most-read AdFreak stories of 2009. Which is a great help in giving us some direction for 2010.

10. Gillette video teaches art of genital shaving
9. Progressive's Flo: I'm not trying to be sexy
8. Use a condom, thwart that evil Hitler sperm
7. Pringles banner ad worth a few dozen clicks
6. 13,750-square-foot iPod board goes missing
5. The 10 best celebrity computer ads of the 1980s
4. Christ's death helps out Safeway customers
3. Brewer's ad turns Snow White into Ho White
2. DDB, WWF reeling from fallout over 9/11 ad
1. The 30 freakiest commercials of 2009

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Kim Kardashian is all hot for Carl's Jr. salad

Here's the new Carl's Jr. commercial with reality-TV star Kim Kardashian munching on one of the fast-food chain's salads—one that has cranberries, apples, walnuts and grilled chicken. The ad was done by Los Angeles agency Mendelsohn Zien. There's not much to say. Most people seem to think it's pretty hot, and also a lot of nonsense. One YouTube commenter has a more nuanced view: "This lady is physically unfit, short, and probably quite slow at running. I find her very unattractive on two levels (Moral and Physical). Then again I am only attracted to tall, intelligent women, with good morals and athletic ability... Well take care and have a good day."

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Geico ads answer questions with questions

Does Geico try a new direction in four new spots from The Martin Agency breaking Monday? Oh yes, indeed. Check them out above. The spots begin with a guy asking the same question—"Could switching to Geico really save you 15 percent or more on car insurance"—which he then answers by asking other questions with obvious answers, like "Is Ed 'Too Tall Jones too tall?" and "Does Charlie Daniels play a mean fiddle?" Apparently, the brand's not targeting twentysomethings here, since most folks under 35 won't remember who Ed "Too Tall" Jones is. In fact, most folks over 35 will probably have to Google. Is the new approach more appealing than Geico's googly-eyed wad of Kash or the talking tree limb and fender? Marginally, yes. Still, with instantly recognizable icons like the gecko and cavemen in its ad arsenal, this new tactic seems questionable.

—Posted by David Gianatasio

Do not fart around with dangerous fireworks

This Dutch spot, warning teens not to play around with fireworks, manages to be both extremely silly and unsettling at the same time, igniting elements of the Twilight Zone, David Lynch and MadTV for a sophomoric finale that's almost unbelievably stupid, yet on point and tough to forget. The kid's appearance is certainly a lot more distinctive after the accident, though maybe not in a way that the sexpot nurse might like. The ad's in Dutch, until the end, when the kid starts speaking a more universal language. Check out more silliness over on the Web site.

—Posted by David Gianatasio

Shawn Johnson risks life to sell a candy bar

Check out Shawn Johnson doing a backflip over a hurtling bobsled in the Nestlé Crunch video above. The press materials suggest that "gymnastics sites have been abuzz with close fans of hers debating whether the move is real"—which, if true, means her fans are morons. This second video, with Apolo Ohno skating on a bobsled track, is a bit more believable—except for the fact that he's wearing long skates at the beginning and the end of the run, and short skates in the middle.

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Mother London enjoys honest holiday spam

This came to our attention too late to include on our list of best agency holiday cards. But it's doubtful any shop will top Mother London's "Giving is Glorious" idea for its combination of cleverness and charity. The agency sent out a spam-style e-mail promising recipients $10,000 if they replied with their full name and bank details. Lots of people responded, but only one guy—commercial director Theo Delaney—was willing to surrender his bank number. He wound up with the money. And in a nice twist (which almost makes you wonder if the whole thing was staged), Delaney quickly decided to donate it to a women's health charity called Forward Nigeria.

—Posted by Brian Morrissey

Biker cupid shoots for heart in U.K. car spot

He's not exactly cherubic, but the hairy, beefed-up Cupid certainly gets the job done in this amusing car ad. The campaign, from Barcelona ad agency Atletico International, promotes the SEAT Ibiza Cupra vehicle in the U.K. SEAT U.K. rep Rob Taylor says: "The premise of this campaign is built around the obvious love for SEAT's sexy new Ibiza models. But we knew we couldn't go for the clichéd image of a Cupid-style persona. We wanted to develop a different type of character, an archer with real attitude and street cred who spreads the love for Ibiza in an inimitable way."

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Aussie cancer PSA shows attack on Sydney

The Gut Foundation and Sydney ad agency Banjo go the high-risk route in this Australian bowel-cancer PSA, using 9/11-type imagery to make an impact. The voiceover says: "If 12 Australians were killed by terrorists, it would be front-page news. Yet 12 Australian men and women die from bowel cancer every single day. That's more than breast cancer, but no one wants to talk about it." As we've said before, exploiting one tragedy to try and prevent another is a pretty questionable marketing strategy. But if nothing else, the foundation is true to its name: Trying this approach took some guts. And famed Aussie adman John Singleton, who's behind the initiative, is giving media quotes to match. "There's no point in being a soft cock about it, you've got to make an impact," he tells Mumbrella.

—Posted by David Gianatasio

2009's best and worst agency holiday cards

Ad-agency holiday cards are a proud tradition. Nowadays, they usually come in the form of a holiday Web site. Some make you go "Ho ho ho." Others have you grumbling "Humbug!" After the jump, check out our picks for this year's best and worst, as selected by Saatchi & Saatchi's James Cooper and Adweek's Brian Morrissey.

2009's BEST AGENCY HOLIDAY CARDS
Selected by James Cooper, interactive cd at Saatchi New York.

Agency Republic, "A Way to a Manger"

The London shop made an iPhone app that allows you to set your home address and have that represented by a shining star, which can lead you home. Two things I like about this. First, getting it through the apple approval process in time for the holiday season shows a presence of mind rarely seen in our kick, bollock, scramble world. The other is that as anyone who has ever lived and worked in London knows, getting home after a few drinks is as much a miracle as the birth of Jesus Christ himself. It is, as we are wont to say these days, a "branded utility"—although I think you would be hard pressed to find a better example of branded utility than the USB-heated coffee mugs we all got at Saatchi!

Pop Art, Inc., "Holidize Me"

Agencies sometimes go really over the top with elaborate holiday sites that require people to actually give a crap. (Droga Sydney?) I think it's fair to assume people just want a quick hit of fun at the end of the year. This site "Holidizes" your own site in the same way that Kanye hijacked many people's sites during KanyeGate. Simple, fun—your mom would do it if she weren't busy figuring out how to follow your ex-girlfriends' updates on Facebook to let you know how well they are doing.

Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, "New School vs. Old School"

Forget about whether the gag is too clichéd. The debate for me in Goodby's holiday rap is whether that is really Jeff Goodby's niece getting drunk. If it's not, it's still a well-produced, self-effacing, better-than-most film. But if it is, then it's reaching a higher level.

AKQA, "Resotweetion"

AKQA made a sweet little site that uses people's new year resolution tweets to play out the music to Auld Lang Syne. What this neatly does is show everyone that they have managed to muck about with Twitter API to good effect and neatly sidestep the inevitable religious potholes one can get oneself into at this time of year, as evidenced by my first paragraph.

2009's WORST AGENCY HOLIDAY CARDS
Selected by Brian Morrissey, Adweek digital editor.

Publicis London, "I've Got a Feeling"

It's hard to know where to start. It's easy to quibble with the execution of this lip sync, but what's most troubling is the lack of originality. Publicis is copying what a bunch of communication students in Canada did back in September. That earlier video was clever enough to earn more than 3.5 million views on YouTube. What's most galling is that Publicis London failed to do the lip sync in a single shot. That's the entire point. Please revisit Connected Ventures for tips. Its success even got it sued for copyright infringement.

Wunderman, "Winter Wunderland"

AdFreak has an institutional bias against the use of snow globes in holiday sites. Wundermanland promises a place of frolicking fun. What awaits is a digital house of horrors. Visitors are greeted with a hackneyed holiday scene: a postcard of a snowman inside a snow globe. The interactive twist: You can upload your own photo into the globe and send it around to friends and family. This just isn't very compelling or original.

JWT Atlanta, "Snowflakes"

The snow globe. Again. This time, shaking the snow globes brings you, wait for it, falling snowflakes. Clicking on these yields syrupy holiday wishes from employees, such as, "May we lay down our differences and enjoy the holiday season."

MRM Worldwide, "Holiday Tree"

The bar is higher for holiday e-cards from digital shops. So, MRM disappoints us—gravely disappoints us—with the MRM Holiday Tree. To its credit, the shop didn't trot out a snow globe or falling stars. It chose a close cousin: the Christmas holiday tree, which users can interact with by claiming a spot set aside for an unspecified charitable donation.